What to Do When Tenant Does Not Pay Rent?
After deducing the deposit and issuing several verbal warnings and the tenant who did not pay his or her rent still reside in the property. Many people will usually result to mundane ways of flushing them out such as cut the water and electricity, change the house’s lock or move tenant’s items out of the property. However, if you have the proper legal paperwork signed beforehand. You can evict the tenant out of the house after multiple of legal warnings are given.
First, you need to ensure that you have a contract signed beforehand. With a contract signed beforehand, you bind your tenant in a legal relationship. Furthermore, it protects you if the tenant refuses to follow the terms and protects the tenant if the landlord abuses his or her power. The contract must contain a section that legally states the landlord’s right and the processes of the event of an eviction when the tenant fails to follow the terms agreed.
When then tenants has failed to follow the terms agreed upon, then you can issue an eviction notice according to the agreement. However, a grace period must be included so the tenant can plans his/her next move and when to pack and leave. Besides, tenant should include an official handover of all the items in the apartment and full payment of the overdue rent before leaving.
However, if the tenant refuses to move and remain in resident in your property after the notice date expires. You can lodge an official police report. With that report, you can break the lock of the property with the presence of a police offer and a witness and collect the possessions in the property. Ensure photos are taken before the collection to avoid unnecessary issue from the tenant. Placed the notice which attached the photocopy of the police report on the door of the property to prove that the property is legally entered. On a side note, breaking into your property even though the tenant has not been paying his or her rent is illegal and the tenant can sue you for that. You don’t want that to happen, so, lodge a police report.
If the tenant still plays dumb and never contact you, then the worst measure should be taken: an eviction order from the court. The order includes outstanding rental, double rental (you are able to claim double rental when the tenant remain after the due date) and recovery of the property and all possessions. Unfortunately, this process can take up to three to six months at the Session Court. It would cost you approximately RM7,000 to RM25,000 due to hiring a lawyer and, if the tenant decides to contest the summons, it would cost more.
On a side note, but not recommended, on a worst to worst case basis, you can also check the tenant’s water and electricity bills, if the tenant owned the SYABAS or TNB for long, you can ask the companies to cut water and electricity legally.
Written By : Fung Chai Ying
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